Ivy Title on the Line In Season Finale at Brown

#20 Dartmouth (8-1, 5-1) at Brown (2-7, 1-5)
Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021 | Noon | ESPN+
Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium | Providence, R.I.

Aiming for Crowning Achievement
Only one team stands between Dartmouth and its second consecutive Ivy League championship, and that is Brown. When these two squads last met two years ago, the Bears put a big scare into the Big Green and very nearly denied them a share of the conference crown before an interception in the end zone in the waning seconds allowed Dartmouth to finish off a 29-23 triumph.

Dartmouth would like nothing more than to score early and often to leave no doubt as to the outcome, much like it did last week against Cornell. Although the Big Green missed a short field goal on their first possession, the offense built up a 28-point lead by halftime and cruised to a 41-7 win.

The quarterback tandem of Derek Kyler and Nick Howard was hitting on all cylinders against the Big Red defense as the latter was named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. Howard posted career highs of 172 rushing yards and four touchdowns and is now third in the Ivy League in rushing but atop the circuit in yards per carry (6.4).

Kyler, meanwhile, put up his usual effiicent numbers — 14-of-18 passing for 182 yards and a touchdown. The fifth-year senior has the highest career efficiency rating of any active FCS quarterback, just ahead of national player of the year candidates from Southeast Louisiana and James Madison. And with 4,495 career total yards, Kyler is fifth all-time among Dartmouth QBs.

In a season that began with uncertainty as to whom Kyler would throw, Dale Chesson has emerged as the latest target after missing the first six games with an injury. Against Cornell, the wide receiver posted his first 100-yard game (and first for any Big Green player this season) with seven catches for 106 yards and a touchdown. In three games, the junior has caught 17 throws for 239 yards and two scores. Only sophomore Paxton Scott has more yardage (479) on the team.

Dartmouth was able to dip into its stable of running backs to complement Howard against the Big Red with four providing between 24 and 30 yards apiece. Noah Roper was among that quartet, contributing a 13-yard touchdown run as well, his first of the season. He and Zack Bair have combined for 733 yards and 3 TDs on 133 carries, a 5.5-yard average per carry.

All of this talk about offense, yet the defense continued to distinguish itself, holding an opponent to single digits for the fourth time this year. The Big Green have not surrendered more than 21 points this season, and the last time an opponent had more than 24 came in the season finale of the 2017 season, a 54-44 shootout win over Princeton, or 30 games ago.

Linebacker Jalen Mackie continues to make his case for the Bushnell Cup with eight more tackles against Cornell, bringing his season total to 86, tied for the conference lead. With Mackie leading the way, Dartmouth ranks among the top five in the FCS in pass defense (2nd), scoring defense (3rd) and total defense (5th).

Scouting the Bears
Brown enters the game with one role on its mind — spoiler. But a win over the Big Green would not only most likely deny Dartmouth a share of its 20th Ivy League title (more than any other Ancient Eight team), it would also lift the Bears out of a three-way tie at the bottom of the standings.

Offense is the name of the game for Brown, and that begins with talented quarterback E.J. Perry, playing in his final college game this weekend. The Boston College transfer is sixth nationally in total offense at nearly 350 yards per game, completing nearly two-thirds of his throws. He leads the league in passing yards (2,775) and touchdowns (22), but interceptions as well (14).

On the ground, Allen Smith and Jordan DeLucia make for a solid tandem, combining for about 85 yards a game. Perry does his fair share of tucking the ball with 368 yards and a team-high six touchdowns. But while the Big Green average nearly five yards a carry, the Bears are at 3.7.

Perry has a talented stable of receivers at his disposal, and any of the top three would lead Dartmouth in receptions and yardage. Take your pick of Wes Rockett (53 catches, 629 yards, 8 TDs), Graham Walker (43-561, 5 TDs) or Hayes Sutton (51-495, 6 TDs) on whom your defense focuses.

The Achilles' heel of this Brown team has been its defense. Only twice have the Bears held an opponent under 36 points. The unit is among the bottom five nationally in pass defense and scoring defense.

Linebacker Junior Gafa leads Brown with 55 tackles and 8.5 for a loss, while fellow LB Jason Medeiros and DE Callum Flanders each have four sacks. Three defenders have an interception to their credit, but safety Josh Ofili leads the team in passes defended with three.

Christopher Maron handles the place kicking duties, converting 6-of-10 field goals with a long of 48 yards and all 34 of his PATs. Declan Boyle averages 42.2 yards per punt, second in the league.

Head coach James Perry (Brown '00) is 4-15 in his second year at the helm of the Bears. He began his coaching career at Dartmouth before stops at Williams, Maryland, Brown and Princeton before his first head coaching gig at Bryant (2017-18). As a player, Perry earned the Bushnell Cup by quarterbacking the Bears to an Ivy title in 1999 and posted a 23-7 record as a starter.

The Series
• Dartmouth is 61-32-4 all-time against Brown with wins in six of the last seven meetings.
• The Big Green are aiming to win their fourth straight in the series for the first time since a six-game streak from 1988-93.
• Buddy Teevens has gone 12-8 against Brown in his two stints at Dartmouth.
• In the first 20 years of the Ivy League, Dartmouth was 18-0-2 against the Bears, which included a 15-game winning streak.
• At Brown Stadium, the Green are 29-10-1 with wins in the last four contests here. The last loss at the venue was a rainy, muddy, 14-7 overtime decision back in 2009.
• The home team has won just twice in the last 10 contests.

Repeat Offenders
It has been 29 years since Dartmouth last won consecutive Ivy League titles, claiming three straight from 1990-92. But the Big Green can end that drought with a win at Brown on Saturday, which would also give the program its 20th Ivy League championship, most in the Ancient Eight. A full list of repeat champions can be found on page eight of these notes.

Strength vs. Strength
Dartmouth features one of the stingiest defenses in the FCS, while Brown has one of the more prolific offenses. Which will prevail — the unstoppable force or the immovable object? That may be overstating it a bit, but you get the idea. The most interesting battle is the Big Green secondary that surrenders fewer than 150 passing yards a game (second in the FCS) against E.J. Perry who throws for more than double that amount (308.3). Can Dartmouth contain the explosive Bears offense? Tune in on Saturday to find out.

No Letdown vs. Cornell This Time
In the last football season back in 2019, Dartmouth sported a perfect 8-0 record when Cornell came to town with just two victories to its name. Yet the mismatch on paper didn't play out that way on the field as the Big Red stunned the Green at Memorial Field, 20-17, spoiling a potential 10-0 campaign and an outright Ivy League title. This time around, Dartmouth came into its game against Cornell with a 7-1 record while the Big Red had an identical 2-6 mark. But the Big Green were determined not to suffer the same fate and made quick work of Cornell in a 41-7 win, maintaining their ability to control their own destiny in the title race.

Howard Ivy Player of the Week Again
Nick Howard was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season thanks to career highs of 172 rushing yards (including a career-long 75 yard gain) and four TDs in the 41-7 victory over Cornell. The junior QB ran the ball just 13 times, posting the best average per carry (13.2) of the last 35 seasons and likely ever (minimum 10 carries). His 172 yards were the most in three years for any Dartmouth player and give him 707 on the season, most by a Big Green QB ever, passing Jared Gerbino's 700 from 2018. And his four rushing TDs were the most since Gerbino had four against Princeton in 2017. Howard's 13 rushing TDs are the fourth most in a season at Dartmouth and just two shy of the record set by Al Marsters in 1929.

No Score Zone
A bit of an exaggeration, but when teams get into the red zone against Dartmouth defense, the going just gets tougher. The Big Green have allowed opponents to score once they advance to the Dartmouth 20 at the lowest rate in the FCS at just 55 percent (11-of-20) with seven touchdowns and four field goals. No team has had fewer scores against it in the red zone and only two have matched the Green's total — No. 2 James Madison (11-of-13) and No. 4 North Dakota State (11-of-17).

Return to the Rankings
Dartmouth was nationally ranked in each of its last two seasons, finishing as high as 15th in 2018 and 21st in 2019. After beating then-23rd-ranked New Hampshire back on Oct. 16, the Big Green made their debut in the STATS Perform poll at No. 25, only to drop back out following their loss to Columbia. But after defeating three ranked opponents in the last four weeks, Dartmouth earned a spot in both polls. This week, the Big Green are No. 20 in the STATS Perform poll and No. 21 in the AFCA Coaches poll. Since the FCS formed in 1978, the Big Green have been ranked in at least one final poll five times — 1990 (17), 1996 (17), 2015 (23), 2018 (15) and 2019 (21).

Chesson Tops 100
In just his third game of the season, junior WR Dale Chesson became the first Big Green player to collect 100 receiving yards in a game this year — and for the first time in his career — hauling in seven passes for 106 yards with a TD in the 41-7 win over Cornell. And even though he has played in just three games due to an injury, he is third on the team with 17 catches and second with 239 yards.

On Pace for FCS Record
The Dartmouth defense has allowed opponents just 8.69 yards per completion, which is a pretty low figure. How low you ask? The FCS all-time record is 8.81 yards, held by East Tennessee State, but that was set last year in a shortened six-game season due to the pandemic. The previous mark was 8.88 yards per completion, set by the 2008 Yale Bulldogs. Either way, Dartmouth is on pace to break that mark, but face a stiff challenge in Brown QB E.J. Perry.

Kyler Hits 4,000
When Derek Kyler connected with Jonny Barrett for a 23-yard touchdown late in the third quarter against No. 16 Princeton, he pushed his way into elite territory at Dartmouth — 4,000 career passing yards. Kyler is just the eighth player to reach the milestone, but he will need at least 220 yards in the final game to go any higher. His 4,194 yards are 219 behind former Pittsburgh Pirate and New York Met Mark Johnson '90. Should he top 300 yards for the third time in his career, he would be in range of Conner Kempe '12 who is fifth with 4,499. Kyler is already fifth in total offense at 4,495, but he is nearly 800 yards behind Jack Heneghan '18 in fourth. Looking at season totals, Kyler is second in the FCS in completion percentage (70.2) and fifth in passing efficiency (159.44) this year, and with 243 passing yards, he would become the eighth Dartmouth QB to throw for 2,000 (three have done it twice).

Four Seasons Record
No, I'm not talking Frankie Valli here, and not even Vivaldi, but rather the fact that over the last four seasons, Dartmouth has won 34 games, the most victories over any four consecutive seasons in program history; the previous record was 32 from 1969-72. The win over Cornell also gives the Green at least eight wins in each of those four years — something it has never accomplished — as well as six of the last seven seasons. Since the start of the 2014 season, Dartmouth is 55-14, easily the best record in the Ivy League in that span (Princeton is 49-20), while going 35-13 in league play (four games better than Harvard and Princeton).

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